Krishna Talk: Email Question & Answer Subscription Forum

Download MP3 Audio Recordings of
Sripad B. G. Narasingha Maharaja Here

Issues of Krishna Talk [Set default browser RSS prefs before clicking]

Swastika & Cross - Krishna Talk 80 — In popular western thinking, no two symbols could possibly be more at odds with each other than the swastika and the cross. The swastika is the symbol of Nazi war crimes against humanity and the cross is the symbol of goodness, mercy and divine grace.

But what if this isn’t true?

The Hare Krishna Maha Mantra - Krishna Talk 79 — The Gaudiya conception of the maha-mantra is exclusive and stands distinct from all other sampradayas. The Gaudiya conception is exclusive in that it surpasses even the greatest expectations of the Vedas (liberation) and affords one the highest fulfillment of the ultimate goal of life. This is not simply party spirit propaganda or sampradaya jingoism, but an ontological fact.

Prabodhananda & Prakasananda - Krishna Talk 78 —Some scholars of Gaudiya Vaisnavism claim that the associate of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Prabodhananda Sarasvati and the Mayavadi sannyasi Prakasananda Sarasvati are one and the same person. From the historical and sastrika perspective it is clear that Prabodhananda was never a Mayavadi sannyasi.

The Raga-patha is Above All - Krishna Talk 77 — Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura composed the verse, matala hari-jana visaya range pujala raga-patha gaurava-bhange, in 1930 on the occasion of moving the Deities of Sri Gaurasundara and Sri Sri Vinoda-Anandajiu from the old house at Ultadanga Junction Road to the new temple in Bagh Bazaar, Kolkata.

Sampradayaka Sannyasa - Krishna Talk 76 — Real renunciation means to engage everything in the service of the Lord and to fix one's aspiration to serve Him with great determination -- not just simply renouncing for the sake of renouncing. If one does so, he is not actually a sannyasi.

Jesus as a Perfect Christian - Krishna Talk 75 — Question: Do you think that Jesus was the example of a perfect Christian?
Narasingha Maharaja: Historically and ontologically speaking, Jesus was a Jew and not a Christian. Jesus was a Jewish rabbi who studied the Jewish scriptures [the Torah] and taught Halakha, or

Caitanya Monks - Krishna Talk 74 — If you accept this sannyasa-vesa, this is only favorable to the activity, but the real thing is the service. The all-important thing is the service, not the dress. The dress can help me to a certain extent to remind me, 'Oh, I am a sannyasi, I am disconnected with other branches of knowledge and interest. My sole interest is the service of Krsna, Guru and Vaisnava.

More on 'Real Religion is Not Man Made' - Krishna Talk 7 3 — There is no such statement in the revealed scriptures [sastras] that Visnu/Krsna [God] reveals His teachings in many places simultaneously. When it is mentioned that religion is taught according to time, place and circumstances, then that is referring to bona-fide teachers of eternal religion like Sri Ramanujacarya and Sri Madhvacarya and not upstarts like Mohammed, Jesus or St. Paul.

Puri Goswami Appearance Lecture - Krishna Talk 72 — by Swami B.G. Narasingha Maharaja.

Srila Prabhupada - Pleasing the Spiritual Master - Krishna Talk 71 — So many instructions are there from Srila Prabhupada and amongst those, the paramount instruction is to preach vigorously. To become a pure devotee and to preach vigorously.

The Self-Defeating Philosophy of Mayavada - Krishna Talk 70 — The idea of Mayavada has always been present since the decline of the Vedic age. It is born from the minds of those jivas who have been envious and desired to usurp the position of God. These jivas, having lost touch with the highest ideal of serving God as an individual part and parcel, have fallen into this man-made plane of thought. Unlike this idea, the Vedic literatures are eternal and apauruseya (descended to this world untouched by the faulty thought process of the human mind). Those unfortunate people who deviate from the teachings of the Vedas invariably fall away from their eternal position as a servant of God into lower planes of consciousness.

Prabhupada's Rooms at Radha Damodar - Krishna Talk 69 — Recently an announcement was posted on "Dandavats.com" wherein the representative of ISKCON's Sri Sri Krishna Balaram temple in Vrindavana [Shyamakrishna Das] informed all the devotees around the world that "Srila Prabhupada's Bhajan-kutir is now re-opened."

Daiva Varnasrama - Krishna Talk 68 — Question: We have heard that Bhaktivinoda Thakura instructed Srila Bhaktisiddhanta to establish the system of daiva-varnasrama. My question is, what is daiva-varnasrama? Is it something different from varnasrama as we generally know it? Answer: Yes, daiva-varnasrama is significantly different from what is generally conceived as varnasrama, the four social and spiritual orders of life designed to maintain human society.

Aryan Invasion - History or Politics - Krishna Talk 67 (opens in new window) — Guest Article by N. S. Rajaram. The evidence of science now points to two basic conclusions: first, there was no Aryan invasion, and second, the Rigvedic people were already established in India no later than 4000 B.C.E....

Society Consciousness vs God Consciousness - Krishna Talk 66 — I read a recent article on the internet by a leading ISKCON sannyasi/GBC/guru wherein he says, "We cannot even extend this family [ISKCON] to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta. We cannot even take one step forward because the problem is if we put too much emphasis on Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, then we will miss out on our focus. We will lose the focus on ISKCON." So my question is: Is there really a conflict between the interests [focus] of ISKCON and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta?

Self Manifest Deities - Krishna Talk 65 — Question: During my many travels in India I have visited certain temples where it is claimed that the Deity of Visnu or Krishna was self-manifest. So my question is, whether it is possible that God self-manifests His Deity form or is it always necessary that an acarya or representative of God be instrumental in establishing a Deity?

Why We Fight - Krishna Talk 64 — Question: I have noticed that many of your Krishna Talk articles have a somewhat controversial spin and even a fighting spirit. Do you think this is actually necessary?
Answer: Yes, preaching means fighting - fighting with illusion and misconception. Our weapons are philosophical arguments backed by sastra and the opinions of previous acaryas. Preaching means speaking the truth and the nature of truth is that it wants to be found and it wants to fight with ignorance and misconception.

Meditation Techniques and the Holy Name - Krishna Talk 63 — There have been some recent discussions about techniques for meditation and controlling the mind while chanting japa [the Holy Name]. It is often said that we are doing mantra meditation, so I was wondering if our acaryas or the sastra have recommended any particular techniques that we can use while doing mantra meditation?

Krishna Talk 62 - More on Christianity: Only Krishna Consciousness Can Enhance Krishna Consciousness — Wasn't there perhaps sincerity in some of these religions at the time when they emerged? God is omnipresent and, after all, a man in the desert who had some desire to know truth would experience an aspect of God's beauty, power, love etc. He could feel that to be God and not yet know about Sri Krishna, due to his unfortunate karma of not being near a pure devotee. Does it mean that he has no realization just because he doesn't yet know about Krishna?

61 - Real Religion is Not Man Made — During a recent visit to Europe I had some informal discussions about religious conceptions with other Gaudiya Vaisnavas and I was surprised to hear some devotees speak about such groups as the Sufis, Whirling Dervishes, Jews, Christians, Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims as being deeply 'surrendered' souls. Of course, generally speaking this may be true – but surrendered to what?

60 - Fools Rush In — "Guru Maharaja, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, preached exclusively this Madhurya-rasa, but with great precaution. What is not that thing, he used perhaps 90% of his energy to point out the negative side - "This is not Madhurya-rasa" - and clear away the negative side. He had to spare, in his words, 'gallons of blood' to establish what is not that Madhurya-rasa."

59 - The Universal Teacher — Devavision Productions is pleased to announce the release of the long awaited video THE UNIVERSAL TEACHER [a documentary on the life and teachings of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura].

58 - Jesus in the Vedas — Recent articles claim that the fable of Jesus is mentioned in the Bhavisya Purana. However, a closer look at this prediction strongly suggests foul play or interpolation on the part of Christian Missionaries in India during the late 18th century.

57 - Bhaktivinoda's Vision — Bhaktivinoda Thakura was not staying in Godrumadvipa when he had his vision of the Adbhuta Mandira. In fact Bhaktivinoda's house at Godruma was not built until two years later.

56 - Gita Govinda — So far as the Gita-govinda is concerned, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta did not allow his disciples to read Gita-govinda nor did he ever write a forward to that book.

55 - Gaura-Gadadhara

54 - Inconceivable Topics

53 - Jivas & the Marginal plane

52 - Mayapura & the Adbhuta-mandira

Supporting Articles for the Mayapura Adbhuta-mandira:

Excerpt from 'The Gaudiya' Magazine, 9th March, 1934
Fulfillment of Bhaktivinoda's instruction and desire

Excerpt from 'The Gaudiya' Magazine, 9th March, 1934
New Temple opened as reported in the Navadvipa-dhama Pracarini Sabha.

Excerpt from 'The Gaudiya' Magazine 1934
Report on the Adbhuta-mandira & Bhaktivinoda's prediction

A study for Sri Caitanya's Birth Place
An unbiased academic study by Prof. K.N. Mukherjee on the authenticity of the present Yogapitha temple in Mayapura, taken from 'The Indian Journal of Landscape Systems and Ecological Studies 1984' (revised in 1990).

The Holy Birth Place of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya
An article by Prof. Nishi Kanta Sanyal, disciple of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada, taken from The Harmonist magazine Vol. 28. 1931. Prof. Sanyal explains both the academic and transcendental evidences to authenticate the Mayapura birthsite.

Evidence from the Book 'Citre Navadvipa'
Some notes from the book 'Citre Navadvipa' published in 1930 by Sriyukta Saradindu Narayana Raya, secretary of the Navadvipa-dhama Pracarini Sabha. This book has many evidences including discoveries made by the famous Bengali historian Sri Nagendranath Basu.

A New Temple on the Birth Site of the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Caitanya
A short article reporting the opening of the Yogapitha temple in 1935, with additional background information.

The Topography of Sridhama Mayapura
An article from The Harmonist 1931 which gives additional evidence pointing to the birth site of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

The Prediction of Vrndavana Dasa
An extract from an article entitled "The Full Moon of the Advent of Lord Gauranga" from The Harmonist, Vol. 15 1935. This essay mentions the prediction of Srila Vrndavana Dasa Thakura in Sri Caitanya-bhagavata about the discovery of Mayapura.

The Opening Ceremony of the Lord's Temple
An excerpt from a Bengali article found in The Gaudiya magazine written in 1935, explaining the prediction of Sri Nityananada Prabhu and it's fulfillment by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Prabhupada Sarasvati Thakura.